Bay Curious Podcast had a great piece about an Urban Legend of the Little People Houses in Alameda. Here is an excerpt – listen and read the whole transcript at their website.

During World War II, shipbuilding was big business along the West Coast. Hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the Bay Area held down jobs at places like the Alameda Works Shipyard.

This week’s question asker, Kim Kay, lives in Alameda — not far from that old shipyard.

A while back, she heard a story from a friend about a handful of small homes tucked away on a little street called Tregloan Court.

“I had heard that the houses on that street were built for small people during World War II for shipbuilding,” Kay says.

Rumor has it the shipyard employed little people — and these small houses were where they lived. Kay and her friend went to check them out.

“You know, when you first look at them you wouldn’t really notice that they were small,” Kay says. “But if you were to walk up to the front door, you would really realize that they are quite small.”

She was intrigued, though she had her doubts about the story.

“It seemed interesting,” she says. “But then my thought was, Kaiser was building ships in Richmond. Is there a street like this in Richmond? Are there small houses in San Francisco? I mean, if that’s true, there must be little houses up and down the coast of California.”

It turns out Kay and her friend aren’t the only people to have heard the rumor about the little people houses on Tregloan Court. There are mentions about it on Facebook, and quite a few Alameda locals nod in recognition when you ask them about it